Cardiff City defender Andrew Taylor hoping to silence Boro boo-boys

Cardiff City’s Andrew Taylor plans to have the last laugh on the Middlesbrough boo-boys by returning to the Premier League.

Now and then: Andrew Taylor in action for Cardiff City and Middlesbrough

Cardiff City’s Andrew Taylor plans to have the last laugh on the Middlesbrough boo-boys by returning to the Premier League.

Hartlepool-born Taylor returns to his first club on Saturday with Cardiff eight points clear at the Championship summit and Boro having dropped out of the play-off positions after just one league win in 2013.

And Taylor can expect another warm welcome in his native north east after being targeted by Boro fans in City’s 2-0 win at the Riverside last April.

“I was there from a nine-year-old and it’ll be good to go back again,” said Taylor.

“But the welcome was so-so last year, it wasn’t great if I’m honest.

“We won the game, though, and hopefully we can do it again.”

Ben Turner and Joe Mason were on target last term to make it a happy Riverside return for the 26-year-old left-back.

Taylor made 145 appearances for Boro – 80 of them in the Premier League – before joining City in July 2011 and the switch looks like paying off with the high-flying Bluebirds on track for promotion.

“I’ve been lucky to experience the Premier League, playing in the best stadiums, against the best players, the best fans,” he said.

“It’s just a total different level, the media coverage that again comes with it is brilliant.

“It would be great for the city, too, the club has been so close in the past and, with Swansea already there, for Wales to have two teams in the Premier League would be magnificent.

“It’s all about consistency. I’m not saying we’re going to win every game because that’s very unlikely.

“But if we keep doing what we’ve been doing all season we’ll make it over the line.”

Boro were in the top two with Cardiff when they lost 1-0 in South Wales back in mid-November. But their form has tailed off to such an extent that they have picked up only four points from a possible 27 since the turn of the year.

“They’ve had a sticky spell and it shows how well the first half of the season went as they’re just outside the play-offs and not too far from the automatic positions,” said Taylor.

“It has surprised me a little bit that they’ve slipped because they’ve got a lot of good players.

“I didn’t think they would go on such a bad run but they’re still capable of winning six or seven in a row.

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